Tribute to Professor Glyn Emery

Monday 22 January 2007
A tribute to Professor Glyn Emery
Glyn Emery was a native of Cumberland. He read Physics at Oxford before joining the fledgling computer industry of the mid-1950s.  He entered academic life as a lecturer at Westfield College (University of London) and in 1970 was appointed to the new chair of Computer Science at the then University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.

It was the universities of Cambridge and Manchester that pioneered the development of computers and they, along with one or two other institutions, were the first to offer courses in Computer Science but, when Aberystwyth decided to establish a department of Computer Science, in 1970, the number of such departments in the UK was still very small.  It was Professor Emery's task to establish the department, plan the courses and attract the students.  The first undergraduates entered Part 2 of the joint honours course in 1971, graduating in 1973, and the first MSc students were admitted in 1973.  At undergraduate level, the newly formed School of Mathematics provided a very suitable framework for the introduction of single and joint honours degrees from 1974 onwards.  And the rapid developments in micro-electronics led to the introduction, in 1979, of a degree in Micro-electronics and Computing, taught jointly with the Physics Department, which proved very successful. 

When he retired in 1984, Emery could look with some pride on the department that he had created.  It had grown from nothing to a department with some 150 students.  Furthermore, the reputation of its teaching had led to the department being asked to mount substantial summer courses for one of Britain's major technology companies, as well as a number of shorter courses for other bodies, activities that were to provide the funding to support later research developments.

Emery took his teaching seriously and expected his staff to do the same.  He wrote well and produced a number of text books that reflected his concern for teaching as well as his technical interests in programming languages and small real-time systems.  As a Head of Department, he was ahead of his time in his understanding of the need for good communications among the staff of the department.  During term time, he held a weekly staff meeting, held in a timetabled slot.  This caused some surprise and amusement in other departments but it proved an effective means of anticipating possible difficulties and resolving minor problems, as well as, more generally, ensuring that all members of staff were aware of what was going on.  In particular, it made it possible to spot at an early stage students who were having difficulty and to take remedial action before it was too late.

On a personal level, Emery was hospitable and courteous.  He and his wife enjoyed entertaining in their home at Sandmarsh Cottage in Queen’s Road, an intriguing house distinguished by the 10 degree slope of its sitting room floor and the fully equipped bar in the basement.  He will also be remembered for his much loved dogs, which were his regular companions.

On Professor Emery’s retirement in 1984, he and his wife returned to London to live. He died on 8 December 2006 and is survived by his wife Betty.

Professor Frank Bott